The Durango Herald

more Downtown Lowdown

• Like your music loud? Then Rockfest is for you

Every city should be able to boast some type of loud, modern rock scene.
And by “modern rock,” I mean commercially viable, somewhat agro but listener-friendly metal. It may not be Slayer or Motorhead, but it’s angst for someone’s ears, and that’s OK.

• Colorado bands welcome summer with new CDs

Spring and early summer is always a hot time for new music.

• From beginnings in bluegrass, Marshall evolves

Mike Marshall takes genre-jumping to a whole new level.

• Snider trying to break the songwriting habit

Songwriter Todd Snider is one of those musicians whose work habits are similar to the life of a junkie.

• Chatham County plays outside traditional lines

Life isn’t all about bluegrass.
It may seem so this weekend for ticket holders and musicians coming to the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, but not all of the performing bands are traditionally steeped in the music to which Bill Monroe would give his stamp of approval. One of the weekend’s headliners is one such crossover band.

• A better music scene? It’s not as easy as it looks

Someone recently asked me why I never got into the venue-owning and concert-booking business.
“You’d be good at it, Liggett,” he said. “You’ve got some connections, and you know good bands. Seems simple to me.”
My friend’s “simple” line made me choke on my beer, and I explained to him just how simple it really is.

• Almost golden, Skatalites still going strong

Fifty years is a long time for anything. But for a band, with long hours, tons of time on the road with your co-workers in and out of “the office,” it’s an eternity.

• Motet, Lynch tap Durango’s musical core

This weekend’s musical choices exemplify the adage “To each his own.” Or hers.
In this case, it’s the return of a popular jam band for those downtown, as well as an award-winning singer and songwriter for the less-than-late-night crowd on campus. Hardly something for everyone, but that’s why they have jukeboxes.

• McMurtry sings what he knows, which is a lot

James McMurtry is a Texas musician who is able to put words together to conjure up great images of good ol’ America.
He’s far from a songwriter who states the obvious. Lyrics can tell us that love can be wonderful and, more times than not, it stinks.

• Cannon finds peace and quiet in Durango

Durango’s musical community is never one to shy away from a benefit.
If you’ve got a cause you can reach out to a band or two, and more often than not those bands will offer their services to help raise some cash for your organization.